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Building curl for Windows with separate folder

Complete guide to building curl for Windows with a separate folder for DLL addons. Configure setup, file post-processing, and creating proper directory structure.

#build-automation#curl-dependencies#curl-windows-build#dll-folder-structure#mingw-configuration#openssl-integration#windows-deployment

How to build curl for Windows with a subfolder for addons?

I’m building curl in Debian for Windows using MinGW. My current build configuration is:

bash
export T=x86_64-w64-mingw32

PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/root/winlibs/libpsl-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libidn2-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libunistring-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libiconv-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/openssl-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/zlib-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/brotli-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/zstd-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/nghttp2-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libssh2-mingw/lib/pkgconfig" \
CC=$T-gcc AR=$T-ar RANLIB=$T-ranlib STRIP=$T-strip \
../curl-8.16.0/configure --host=$T --build=$(uname -m)-pc-linux-gnu \
  --prefix=/root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest \
  --with-zlib=/root/winlibs/zlib-mingw \
  --with-ssl=/root/winlibs/openssl-mingw \
  --with-ca-bundle="addons/cacert.pem" \
  --with-nghttp2=/root/winlibs/nghttp2-mingw \
  --with-brotli=/root/winlibs/brotli-mingw \
  --with-zstd=/root/winlibs/zstd-mingw \
  --with-libidn2=/root/winlibs/libidn2-mingw \
  --with-libpsl=/root/winlibs/libpsl-mingw \
  --with-libssh2=/root/winlibs/libssh2-mingw \
  --enable-alt-svc \
  --enable-headers-api \
  --enable-hsts \
  --enable-websockets \
  --enable-ipv6 \
  --enable-threaded-resolver \
  --enable-shared

How do I configure the build so that all DLLs and executables from addons are placed in a separate ‘addons’ subfolder next to the main curl.exe, rather than all in one directory?

NeuroAgent

Building curl for Windows with a Separate Addons Folder

To build curl for Windows with a separate subfolder for addons, you need to properly configure the configure parameters and use additional installation commands. Here’s how to do it:

Table of Contents

Analysis of Current Configuration

Your current configuration already contains the important parameter --with-ca-bundle="addons/cacert.pem", which indicates the use of a structure with an addons folder. However, for complete separation of all DLL and executable files of addons, additional configuration will be required.

The problem is that by default, configure and make install place all binary files in one directory specified via --prefix.

Setting Up Build with Separate Addons Folder

To create the proper structure with a separate addons folder, you need to do the following:

  1. Use additional configure parameters that will help structure the output files
  2. Perform post-processing of files after building to move DLLs to the appropriate folders
  3. Correctly configure library paths for linking

Here are the key points for configuration:

Modified Configure Command

bash
export T=x86_64-w64-mingw32

PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/root/winlibs/libpsl-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libidn2-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libunistring-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libiconv-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/openssl-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/zlib-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/brotli-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/zstd-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/nghttp2-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libssh2-mingw/lib/pkgconfig" \
CC=$T-gcc AR=$T-ar RANLIB=$T-ranlib STRIP=$T-strip \
../curl-8.16.0/configure --host=$T --build=$(uname -m)-pc-linux-gnu \
  --prefix=/root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest \
  --exec-prefix=/root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest \
  --bindir=/root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/bin \
  --libdir=/root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/lib \
  --includedir=/root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/include \
  --datarootdir=/root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/share \
  --with-zlib=/root/winlibs/zlib-mingw \
  --with-ssl=/root/winlibs/openssl-mingw \
  --with-ca-bundle="share/cacert.pem" \
  --with-nghttp2=/root/winlibs/nghttp2-mingw \
  --with-brotli=/root/winlibs/brotli-mingw \
  --with-zstd=/root/winlibs/zstd-mingw \
  --with-libidn2=/root/winlibs/libidn2-mingw \
  --with-libpsl=/root/winlibs/libpsl-mingw \
  --with-libssh2=/root/winlibs/libssh2-mingw \
  --enable-alt-svc \
  --enable-headers-api \
  --enable-hsts \
  --enable-websockets \
  --enable-ipv6 \
  --enable-threaded-resolver \
  --enable-shared \
  --disable-static

Important changes:

  • Added --exec-prefix, --bindir, --libdir, --includedir, --datarootdir for precise control over file placement
  • Changed the path for CA bundle to share/cacert.pem
  • Added --disable-static to reduce size

Post-Processing Files for Proper Structure

After running make and make install, you need to create a structure with an addons folder:

bash
# Create folder structure
mkdir -p /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/bin
mkdir -p /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/addons

# Move DLLs to addons folder
find /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest -name "*.dll" -not -path "*/bin/*" -exec mv {} /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/addons/ \;

# Copy necessary DLLs from dependencies to addons
cp /root/winlibs/openssl-mingw/bin/*.dll /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/addons/
cp /root/winlibs/zlib-mingw/bin/*.dll /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/addons/
cp /root/winlibs/brotli-mingw/bin/*.dll /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/addons/
cp /root/winlibs/zstd-mingw/bin/*.dll /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/addons/
cp /root/winlibs/nghttp2-mingw/bin/*.dll /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/addons/
cp /root/winlibs/libssh2-mingw/bin/*.dll /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/addons/

# Leave only curl.exe and related files in bin
mv /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/curl.exe /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/bin/
mv /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/curl-config /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/bin/

# Remove empty folders
find /root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest -type d -empty -delete

Verification of Results

After running these commands, you should get the following structure:

/root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest/
├── bin/
│   ├── curl.exe
│   └── curl-config
├── addons/
│   ├── libcrypto-*.dll
│   ├── libssl-*.dll
│   ├── zlib1.dll
│   ├── brotlicommon.dll
│   ├── brotlidec.dll
│   ├── libzstd.dll
│   ├── libnghttp2.dll
│   └── libssh2.dll
├── lib/
│   ├── libcurl.dll
│   └── libcurl.dll.a
├── include/
│   └── curl/
└── share/
    └── cacert.pem

Complete Build Example

Here’s a complete script for building with proper structure:

bash
#!/bin/bash

export T=x86_64-w64-mingw32
export CURL_VERSION="8.16.0"
export PREFIX="/root/winlibs/curl-mingw-latest"

# Configure paths
PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/root/winlibs/libpsl-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libidn2-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libunistring-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libiconv-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/openssl-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/zlib-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/brotli-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/zstd-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/nghttp2-mingw/lib/pkgconfig:\
/root/winlibs/libssh2-mingw/lib/pkgconfig"

# Clean previous build
rm -rf $PREFIX

# Configuration
PKG_CONFIG_PATH="$PKG_CONFIG_PATH" \
CC=$T-gcc AR=$T-ar RANLIB=$T-ranlib STRIP=$T-strip \
../curl-$CURL_VERSION/configure --host=$T --build=$(uname -m)-pc-linux-gnu \
  --prefix=$PREFIX \
  --exec-prefix=$PREFIX \
  --bindir=$PREFIX/bin \
  --libdir=$PREFIX/lib \
  --includedir=$PREFIX/include \
  --datarootdir=$PREFIX/share \
  --with-zlib=/root/winlibs/zlib-mingw \
  --with-ssl=/root/winlibs/openssl-mingw \
  --with-ca-bundle="share/cacert.pem" \
  --with-nghttp2=/root/winlibs/nghttp2-mingw \
  --with-brotli=/root/winlibs/brotli-mingw \
  --with-zstd=/root/winlibs/zstd-mingw \
  --with-libidn2=/root/winlibs/libidn2-mingw \
  --with-libpsl=/root/winlibs/libpsl-mingw \
  --with-libssh2=/root/winlibs/libssh2-mingw \
  --enable-alt-svc \
  --enable-headers-api \
  --enable-hsts \
  --enable-websockets \
  --enable-ipv6 \
  --enable-threaded-resolver \
  --enable-shared \
  --disable-static

# Build and install
make -j$(nproc)
make install

# Create structure with addons folder
mkdir -p $PREFIX/bin
mkdir -p $PREFIX/addons

# Move DLLs
find $PREFIX -name "*.dll" -not -path "*/bin/*" -exec mv {} $PREFIX/addons/ \;

# Copy DLLs from dependencies
for dep in openssl zlib brotli zstd nghttp2 libssh2; do
    if [ -d "/root/winlibs/${dep}-mingw/bin" ]; then
        cp /root/winlibs/${dep}-mingw/bin/*.dll $PREFIX/addons/
    fi
done

# Move main executables
mv $PREFIX/curl.exe $PREFIX/bin/
mv $PREFIX/curl-config $PREFIX/bin/

# Cleanup
find $PREFIX -type d -empty -delete

echo "Build completed. Structure:"
echo "$PREFIX/"
echo "├── bin/"
echo "├── addons/"
echo "├── lib/"
echo "├── include/"
echo "└── share/"

This script will create the proper structure with a separate addons folder for all DLLs and executable addon files, leaving the main curl.exe in the bin folder.

Sources

  1. Curl: Howto: Use libcurl with MinGW
  2. How to build/install libcurl on windows with MinGW
  3. Use libcurl in Dev-C++(MinGW)
  4. Windows - everything curl
  5. How to compile curlpp with Windows?
  6. Installing curl (for Windows)

Conclusion

  • To create a separate addons folder, use parameters --bindir, --libdir, --datarootdir for precise control over file placement
  • After the main build, perform post-processing to move DLLs to the addons folder
  • Copy necessary DLLs from dependencies (openssl, zlib, brotli, zstd, nghttp2, libssh2) to addons
  • Keep the main curl.exe in the bin folder for convenience
  • This structure makes application deployment cleaner and more organized

This configuration will allow you to have a clear separation between curl’s main files and dependencies, which is especially important when deploying applications on Windows.

How to automatically update dependencies when building curl for Windows?How to create an installer for curl with proper folder structure?How to check library version compatibility when building curl?How to configure environment variables for curl to work with separate addons folder?How to integrate the built curl into an existing C++ project?How to optimize the size of the built curl for Windows?
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